How do you pay for Nursing Home care?  You can privately or self pay at a rate on average of almost $300.00 per day.  You may be lucky enough to have an excellent Long Term Care Insurance policy. Medicare and Supplemental Insurance?  Yes, but, that is limited.  There are Veterans' Benefits for some. 

Generally, the costs of nursing home care is paid by Medical Assistance or Medicaid.  Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that provides health insurance coverage to low-income children, seniors, and people with disabilities.  There are a maze of laws and regulations concerning Medicaid and lots of myths out there.  We hear all the time “The nursing home will take my house when I am admitted to their facility”.  That is not true and it leads to older adults and their families to make unwise decisions.  Your principal residence (with intent to return) limited to $560,000 equity is an exempt resource in being eligible for Medicaid.  You don’t have to lose your home to go into a nursing home and be eligible for Medicaid.  That myth sometimes leads a homeowner to transfer their home to family members which causes them to be ineligible for Medicaid for a significant period of time.          

When someone applies for Medicaid long-term care benefits, the applicant can be required to produce 60 months of past financial records, starting backwards from the date of the application for benefits.